WestminsterResearch http://www.westminster.ac.uk/research/westminsterresearch Social media: digital content creation and sharing. A study of adults. Tim Riley Faculty of Media, Arts and Design This is an electronic version of a PhD thesis awarded by the University of Westminster. © The Author, 2014. This is an exact reproduction of the paper copy held by the University of Westminster library. The WestminsterResearch online digital archive at the University of Westminster aims to make the research output of the University available to a wider audience. Copyright and Moral Rights remain with the authors and/or copyright owners. Users are permitted to download and/or print one copy for non-commercial private study or research. Further distribution and any use of material from within this archive for profit-making enterprises or for commercial gain is strictly forbidden. Whilst further distribution of specific materials from within this archive is forbidden, you may freely distribute the URL of WestminsterResearch: (http://westminsterresearch.wmin.ac.uk/). In case of abuse or copyright appearing without permission e- mail [email protected] Social Media: Digital content creation and sharing A study of adults Tim Riley University of Westminster September 2013 Revised: August 2014 A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the University of Westminster for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Abstract In the first few years of the 21st century, access to and use of Web 2.0 digital technologies by everyday, non-professional web users increased considerably in the UK. Today anyone of any age with access to a computer, digital tools and an internet connection can engage in social media dialogues as creators and publishers of digital content. This practice is no longer the preserve of the professional. Many academics and media commentators see this as a significant shift from the way individuals traditionally receive and ‘passively’ consume media to a position where they are more actively, responsively and inclusively engaged. In the last fifteen years much research has been concerned with the online actives of children and young people. Several web commentators have written with enthusiasm of the ‘net generation’ and ‘digital natives’. However, little research has been conducted into the digital and online engagement of adult web users. This study investigates how adults aged 18-28, 40-50 and +65 create, publish and share content online. Content creation, in the context of this project, is defined as an arrangement of visual and/or audio material that requires some element of composition or editing. Through the use of qualitative interviews this research provides an insight into the practices of these three age ranges of adults who use digital technology and the internet to create and share their content. The study addresses how they use content sharing to communicate online and their motivations for engaging in these practices. Issues of this kind are of importance for individuals’ self-expression and participation in an increasingly digitalised world. The research found that participants from all age groups often used both digital and analogue technologies side-by-side and this helped, rather than hindered, their ability to create and share content. Several participants, particularly the over-65s, revealed that digital technologies were enablers that unlocked suppressed behaviour and creative desires. Artistic self- expression, personal achievement, affiliation to others and receiving recognition and feedback were all given as motivational reasons for creating and sharing content across the age spectrum. The research findings offer an alternative to the over- simplistic and sometimes polemical perception that the so-called ‘digital generation’ are more digitally adept and literate than older internet users. ii Acknowledgements There are a number of people to whom I owe gratitude and thanks for various reasons on my PhD voyage of discovery. First of all I would like to thank my supervisor Professor David Gauntlett for his constant support, and encouragement, and his continuing belief in me throughout the research process. His ideas, guidance and positive attitude have been invaluable, and his faith in my ability to progress has resonated far beyond this research project. Secondly, thanks goes to my second supervisor, Dr. Fatimah Awan, for her wise and knowledgeable observations and suggestions throughout the final two years of my PhD. I’d also like to give recognition to my previous second supervisor, Dr. Caroline Dover, who helped me formulate the early stages of my research before her departure from the University. Many members of staff at the School of Media, Arts and Design in Harrow have been extremely helpful throughout my association with the University of Westminster. However, a specific note of appreciation needs to be extended to Dr. Anastasia Kavada and Dr. Paul Dwyer for their valuable feedback on early proposals and iterations of this project during the course of my study, and Dr. Anthony McNicholas and Mike Fisher for their guidance on the PhD administration procedure. The organisations to which I would like to thank are firstly the Art and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) for the granting of a doctoral award, which enabled me to embark on this venture. Secondly, I would like to acknowledge the academics and students at the 2010 ECREA Doctoral Summer School in Ljubljana, Slovenia who contributed greatly to the formulation and development of this research in the early stages of conceptualisation. Finally, I’d like to extend my gratitude to Hillingdon U3A for allowing access to their members. This research project would not have been possible without participants. Therefore, I am indebted to the 36 participants who kindly agreed to participate and avail themselves voluntarily for interview. Their contribution supplied the project rich qualitative data from which to conduct the research. A special note of sadness and respect needs to be given to one of the participants, Peter Oakley, who died on the morning of 23 March 2014. From a personal point-of-view I would like to thank my wife, Wendy Riley, for her unwavering support, boundless encouragement and total confidence in my ability to finish writing this thesis. Appreciation is also extended my friends Glenn, Mick, Miles, Rich and Rob who were always there to take me out for a drink and provided a welcome escape from the rigors of academic thought. They managed to refresh my mind with the realities and humour of the outside world. Last but certainly not least I’d like to thank my mother, Barbara Green, for her love and support and for being a constant source of inspiration during a difficult period in her life. This research is dedicated to the memory of my father, Max, stepfather, Bob and daughter Alexandra – all no longer with us. iii Author’s declaration I declare that all the material contained in this thesis is my own work. iv Contents Abstract __________________________________________________________ ii Acknowledgements ________________________________________________ iii Author’s declaration ________________________________________________ iv Contents _________________________________________________________ v List of charts and diagrams _________________________________________ xiii Accompanying material ____________________________________________ xiii Chapter 1 – Introduction _____________________________________________ 1 1.1 Introduction ____________________________________________________________ 1 1.1.1 The rise of affordable personal computers and ownership _________________ 3 1.1.2 Development of affordable, free and open source software ________________ 4 1.1.3 Adoption of networked computing ___________________________________ 5 1.2 Conceptual approach of the research ________________________________________ 6 1.3 Research structure ______________________________________________________ 8 Chapter 2 – Social media, technology and new media audiences __________ 11 2.1 Introduction to the title – Social media: Digital content creation & sharing ___________ 11 2.1.1 Social media in context ___________________________________________ 12 2.1.2 ‘Social Software’ and the user _____________________________________ 14 2.1.3 Academic and media discourse: advocates and sceptics ________________ 15 2.1.3.1 Advocates _____________________________________________ 15 2.1.3.2 Sceptics _______________________________________________ 19 2.1.4 Summary and comment: Social media in context _______________________ 23 2.2 New technologies and user agency ________________________________________ 24 2.2.1 McLuhan and Williams ___________________________________________ 25 v 2.2.2 Technological determinism ________________________________________ 28 2.2.3 Technology/society relationship ____________________________________ 30 2.3 New Media Audiences ___________________________________________________ 33 2.4 Redefining media content and content creators _______________________________ 34 2.5 Generations and technology ______________________________________________ 36 2.6 Adult engagement with communication domains ______________________________ 40 2.7 Statistics of generational participation _______________________________________ 41 2.8 UK online statistics _____________________________________________________ 42 2.9 Online identity _________________________________________________________ 43 2.10 Comment ____________________________________________________________